MSNBC'S Hart-Perry Apologizes For Poking Fun At Mitt Romney's Black Grandchild

So the Romney's have an adopted black grandchild, Kieran, and Mitt and Ann had a lovely portrait photographed surrounded by all their grandkids.

In very bad taste, MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry and her co-panelists chose to make Kieran the punch-line of a segment on the show. Video here.

Melissa starts off with:

"Everybody loves a baby picture, and this was one that really a lot of people had emotions about this baby picture this year." "This is the Romney family. "And, of course, there on Gov. Romney's knee is his adopted grandson, who is an African-American, adopted African-American child, Kieran Romney."

You can then hear Pia Glenn in the background singing:

 "One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just isn't the same." 

The others start laughing and then Glenn then pipes in:

"And that little baby, front and center, would be the one" 

The pot-shots continue, and comedian Dean Obeidallah comes in with his oh-so-funny:

 "I think this picture is great. It really sums up the diversity of the Republican party, the RNC. At the convention, they find the one black person."

How's that for racism. And using a baby boy as political fodder is shameful. Even CNN was outraged, and Harris-Perry has since apologized. Big deal.

Kieran was adopted by Mitt's son Ben and daughter-in-law Andelynne.

Imagine had the same thing happened on a FOX show.

Harris-Perry was the stupid woman who claimed that the Boston Bomber's Muslim faith was irrelevant. Right.

Pakistani Woman Refuses Arranged Marriage Gets Charged With Blasphemy

Only in Pakistan does a refusal of marriage get you maimed or killed or possibly executed for blasphemy.

Combine arranged marriages with women considered to be chattel, and you have a recipe for disaster. And you can't always blame it on ignorance. Eraj Sajjad's dad is a senior bureaucrat in the Sindh government (so I assume he must be somewhat educated), who arranged for his daughter to be married to a wealthy businessman. She refused and the spurned would-be groom leveled a blasphemy charge against her. When she went to the Federal Interior Ministry for help- security and the charges dropped- they said sorry, no can do.

Federal Interior Ministry and Senior Minister Sindh Nisar Khuhro refused to help her. The Interior Ministry, in a letter to her, said that as she had been formally implicated in a case of a serious nature and this ministry could not help her.On the other hand, Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro, while refusing her any help, suggested approaching the proper forum of the court of law.

In her letter, she narrated that she had escaped from her residence in Lahore because her parents wanted her to marry a businessman Imtiaz Alam against her will. According to her, Imtiaz Alam belonged to a wealthy family and was an influential person therefore he managed to register a false blasphemy case by using his influence and money against her to get revenge as she had refused to marry him. In her letter, she sought protection and withdrawal of the false blasphemy case against her.

But it wasn't just Imtiaz trying to harm Eraj, according to Eraj when she fled her parents house, Imtiaz and her mum and dad wanted to honor kill her.

I suppose the best alternative to honor killing the woman is to charge her with blasphemy, which can garner the death penalty in Pakistan.

Source

Why It's Important For Millenials To Sign Up For Obamacare- Video

Revealing Politics has put together a little video explaining just why it's so important for the young 'uns to sign up for Obamacare.

In the words of Patty Fontneau of Connect for Colorado we see why the Millenials are needed, and Revealing Politics shows the marketing strategy to get those young working kids to sign on. It's "cool" to sign up, but they leave out some very important information that will impact them.

Hollande's 'Tax Millionaires 75%' Gets Court Approval

France is about to sock it to the wealthy for several years: retroactively for 2013 and 2014. If you make over 1 million euros ($1.4 million) you're going to be hit with a hefty 75% tax. Actually, the companies that pay you that amount will be liable for a 50% duty on those wages in addition to some other taxes and "social charges" for a whopping total of 75%.  At least that's what Bloomberg.com claims.

The constitutional court of France approved Socialist President Francoise Hollande's proposal.

“The companies that pay out remuneration above 1 million euros will, as expected, be called upon for an effort of solidarity on remuneration paid in 2013 and 2014,” the Economy Ministry said in an e-mailed statement.

Hollande, who once said he “didn’t like” the rich, announced the 75 percent tax in February 2012 as part of his presidential campaign to appeal to his Socialist base. It has become a symbol of his government’s record-high taxation rate. [snip] The total amount is limited to 5 percent of a company’s revenue.

Hollande tried last year but failed because individuals rather than households were to be taxed.

It appears the current incarnation (taxing companies) went to the courts because it was opposed by a bunch of MPs and senators.

I wonder if there will be a mass exodus of the wealthy from France.

Ex-Muslimah- Oppression Of Muslim Women Exists

"Marwa" is a "mostly-liberal" Arab, Middle-Eastern, ex-Muslimah, atheist blogger living in the U.S., and she's written an interesting response to an article she read on PolicyMic by Lauren Rankin. Rankin is a white, liberal feminist Western woman, who was being very critical of a series of tweets by Joyce Carol Oates equating the rape and sexual harassment of women in Egypt with religion.  Ms. Oates wrote:

Where 99.3% of women report having been sexually harassed & rape is epidemic--Egypt--natural to inquire: what's the predominant religion?
1:50 PM - 5 Jul 2013

Rankin launches into the typical accusations of Islamophobia, which she stupidly believes is a form of racism, claiming that it's patriarchy not religion that contributes to the oppression of Muslim women.  Marwa  begs to differ.

I love my feminist allies and friends, but sometimes white Western feminists get things all backwards when they try to speak about the experiences of foreign women of color. Especially if they’re talking about people they’ve never met, places they’ve never lived, religious and legal and patriarchal systems they are unacquainted with, and make broad, sweeping generalizations about those systems. This is such an example. I understand that it might be driven by a reflection of the voices of Muslim women who freely choose and cleave to their religion and rail out against accusations that they are being oppressed–what I do not understand is how the experiences and insights of free women with agency and self-determination can speak to the experiences of their sisters who do not have such freedom–the woman who is free to practice Islam or not, to wear hijab or not–this woman does not speak for me or my ex-Muslim and Muslim friends who suffer under Islamic systems any more than a Western woman does.

To be clear, I applaud the instinct to try to reduce anti-Muslim hate and bigotry. It is the approach here that I think is utterly misguided and frankly dangerous. Rankin is attempting to object to Islam being characterized in a monolithic manner…by characterizing it in a monolithic manner, as something that never contributes to or causes misogyny, rape, and oppression of women in Muslim-majority countries. And while I myself am a champion of trying to oppose anti-Muslim bigotry, I believe the strongest and most compassionate way of doing this is by resisting the characterization of Islam as a monolith. What has happened here is that Rankin has engaged in what I say is a dangerous refusal to examine the very real influences and intermingling of religion and patriarchy in violence and oppression against women and children in Muslim-majority countries.

The rest here on her blog Between a Veil and a Dark Place. It's an interesting read, not what some oppressed Muslim women and liberal idiots like Rankin would have you believe.

Marwa also wrote a great article about freedom and living in fear.

Billy Crystal's "Schmuck Dynasty" on Jimmy Fallon.

Billy Crystal's "Schmuck Dynasty".   Prior to the present controversy, of course.

Muslims Kill Christians In Iraq On Christmas

So yesterday was Christmas, but not such a merry day for Christians in Muslim-majority countries, however. Especially in Iraq where more than 37 Christians were killed in two different bomb attacks on one of their most holiest of days. And this in spite of high security, barbed wire and blast walls.

There aren't many Christians left in Iraq, they've either left the country or been killed. Of 1.5 million pre-Iraq War, only about half that amount are still there. According to rights activist William Warda every single day around 10 to 20 Christians leave.

“Many Christians ... are fleeing from the country because of this issue, because there is no sign of a bright future.”

Who can blame them. He does have a wee bit of hope: the government declared Christmas a national holiday this year. Not that it prevented the massacres from occurring.

And Christian religious leaders are trying to persuade their flock not to desert the Arab world.

“Immigration is not the solution,” said Monsignor Pios Cacha, a priest at Mar Yousif.

“Leaving the country means wiping out our identity, it means the end of our presence here. And our presence as Christians is a symbol of peace.”

And the Shi'ites (although the majority) are reaching out to the Christian minority, since they too are targets of al-Qaeda terrorists. In fact, Shi'ite politician Ammar Al-Hakim made an appearance at the Mar Yousif's Christmas Eve mass.

Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a Shi’ite party that has sometimes allied with and sometimes opposed Maliki, rose after the sermon and spoke of tolerance, forgiveness and peace, saying Jesus Christ was an example. Then he turned to al-Qaeda.

“They target you like they target us. There are people in this country who believe that anyone who has a different opinion should be killed,” he said as a small army of burly bodyguards in suits fanned out through the church.

“We are partners as targets. We are partners in this challenge. And we will remain partners in confronting extremism, violence and terrorism,” Hakim said.

One car bomb exploded near a church as worshippers were leaving a Christmas Day mass, 27 were killed, 56 or so wounded.  The other bomb exploded near a predominately Christian outdoor market killing 11 and wounding around 14. As is usually the case, those numbers could change.

People used to say that the violence in Iraq was a direct result of foreign 'occupation'- that was when foreign troops were still there- but they've been gone a few years and the violence continues. Big time. So much for that theory.  Extremists just like to fight, and kill, and that's not going to change any time soon.

Pajama Boy Touts Obamacare

Maybe not everyone knows, but for Obamacare to work the government needs as many to sign on to the programme, especially the young ones. They have been somewhat reluctant to do so, and even if they were interested, it's been pretty dang hard to accomplish that feat.  So step in team-Obama with 'pajama boy', an ad attempting to appeal to the young 'uns.

A photo that was posted on Twitter, and has subsequently become the laughing stock of social media and the media itself, you see a nerdy, metro-sexual model wearing a onesie, hot chocolate in hand, encouraging people to wear their jammies, drink some hot chocolate and "talk about getting health insurance."

Even MSNBC ridiculed it.

Log Cabin Republicans Blast Gay Stereotypes In Obamacare Ad

Log Cabin Republicans (our gay conservative brothers and sisters) are appalled at a pro-Obamacare ad by gay organization Out2Enroll which they feel uses gay stereotypes to try to get gays to enroll in Obamacare.

A statement from their website:

“This cynical ad betrays the depths Obamacare advocates will sink to in order to pad their pathetic enrollment numbers,” Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo declared. “As a self-proclaimed ‘fierce advocate’ of gay equality, President Obama would do well to distance himself from this nonsense and denounce it immediately. This ad is also an example of the left promoting harmful stereotypes that gay men are nothing more than sex-crazed lechers. If anyone on the right made such a comparison, liberals would be apoplectic. At a time when left-wing propagandists are decrying Duck Dynasty‘s Phil Robertson for equating homosexuality with promiscuity and deviance, Out2Enroll and others should take a look in the mirror and ask if the truth is that they are the ones responsible for promoting such harmful stereotypes.”

H/T: Newsmax

Acid Attack On Unveiled Egyptian Woman - Young Activist Discusses

Here's an interesting article by a young Egyptian woman, Reem Abdel-Razek, regarding Egypt's horrendous problem with sexual harassment. Apparently what they are now doing is throwing acid on girls from behind, so she is initially unaware of what happened to her. It happened to the sister of a friend of hers in Cairo, in broad daylight.

Esraa [Mohamed] was walking in her own neighborhood at 3 p.m. when she realized she was being followed by a well-dressed, respectable looking stranger. He said, “I am not harassing you but don’t forget to wipe off your pants.”

She suddenly began to feel a burning pain in her backside and rushed into a cafe to see what was wrong. It was then that she realized she couldn’t remove her pants and took a cab home. By that time the pain was so excruciating that she almost fainted; her buttocks and the back of her thighs had been burned by acid that had eaten into her flesh. The doctor who examined her said she had second and third-degree burns, with cell necrosis in some areas. The diagnosis was “chemical burn by an unidentified corrosive.”

According to Abdel-Razek, this has also happened to others, most have just been too embarrassed to tell anyone.

Esraa does not wear a veil, and they think this might have been the reason she was attacked, at least that's what some Facebook users told her was the reason.

Abdel-Razek also talks about how sexual harassment was virtually unheard of in the 50s and 60s, during the time when very few women wore the veil. The harassment, she believes, has escalated (out of control) with the growing influence of Islamists.

The role of Islamist propaganda in promoting the acceptance of violence against women often gets overlooked by those who are afraid of appearing “Islamophobic” or racist. But addressing the roots of violence against women is one of the most important steps in eradicating it.

During the 1950s and ’60s, this level of sexual persecution was unheard of in Egypt. At that time, hardly anyone in cities wore the veil and Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, had virtually disappeared due to the Gamal Abdel Nasser regime’s systematic attempts to eradicate them. When Anwar Sadat became president in 1970, he eased up on the Islamists because he wanted their support against leftist groups. Thus the 1970s witnessed a religious revival. By the 1980s and ’90s, the Brotherhood’s influence and the social services it provided were entrenched in many villages and neighborhoods, and the number of women wearing the veil rose significantly as a mark of the influence of political Islam.

I remember a conversation about the hijab between my mother and a woman who belonged to the Brotherhood. She said, “Every time I think about how uncomfortable it is, I remember that by wearing it I am promoting our ideology.”

Islamists launched campaigns pushing the veil. One showed a picture of a three legged chair and said it was like a woman without a veil. Another showed a lollipop wrapped in paper next to an unwrapped lollipop covered with flies, which it compared to a woman who does not veil. These campaigns objectified women by comparing them to chairs and candy, and dehumanizing women is the first step in justifying violence against them.

Radio and TV channels that catered to Islamist agendas (most of which have been shut down in the past few months) endlessly justified wife beating, female genital mutilation, marital rape, and other forms of violence against women. They also promoted the idea that women are inferior to men and in need of constant monitoring and disciplining. Those on the receiving end of these messages aren’t just orthodox Muslims or Muslim Brotherhood members, but a much wider demographic.

And talking to the police about sexual harassment is futile because the police think the same way as the harassers.

Not to say that women wearing hijab don't get harassed, they do, they probably just don't get acid thrown on them.

More info- Source

Afghan Man Chops Off Wife's Nose and Lips For Disobeying Him

Drugs and alcohol are haram (forbidden) in Islam, but those Afghan men love their heroin.  Not sure how they reconcile the use of hardcore drugs with their religion, but they don't seem to care much since they grow the opium freely. In fact, Afghanistan grows more than any other country in the world. Not surprising they'd get hooked. And hooked Afghan men do beastly things when they need a fix, actually they do horrific things regardless, and tragically women bear the brunt of their anger and aggression.

Domestic violence is prevalent in places like Afghanistan and the Middle East. Maybe that has to do with the fact that the Quran says it's okay to beat your wife, or wives. Yes, some will quibble about what that actually means, claiming men should only use something like a toothbrush to punish disobedient spouses, but that's usually not the case.  Some men maim or kill their wives for disobeying them. Like Azim, the Afghan man who just chopped off his 30-year-old wife Sitara's lips and nose in front of their kids because refused to sell her jewelry to pay for his heroin fix. He left her there bleeding, and fled like a coward.

People have rallied around Sitara, and she is now getting treatment and reconstructive surgery in Turkey, but Azim has yet to be found.

This is what happens to females in a religious and cultural society that has no respect for women. According to RFE/RL Afghanistan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. And can you blame them? They live in a world where they are forced into marriage at a very young age, most are not allowed to go to school or work, they are bred like animals, hidden under burqas, and beaten and abused. Some are forced into prostitution. What kind of life is that?  They live lives with no hope.

According to Sitara's 14-year-old daughter Fereshta, Azim was a long time drug abuser and would often beat the kids and his wife:

 "Every time my mother refused to give money to my father, he would beat her."

One of the problems is that in spite of the fact that in 2009 Afghanistan implemented an Elimination of Violence Against Women law, which includes criminalizing child marriage, violence against women etc., abusers are rarely prosecuted.

More here.

Christmas Is Offensive- Says Kuwaiti MP

Bah humbug to Hamdan al-Azmi, a Kuwaiti MP, who said the Christmas celebrations are a "mockery" and "offensive" to Islamic culture and religious teachings. So he wants a crackdown on Christmas festivities.

“Allowing activities that promote occasions that are strange to our Islamic society is ridiculous and an offence to our religious teachings,” he said in a statement made available to the press on Sunday.

He further urged the Deputy Premier Sheikh Mohammad al-Khalid al-Sabah to monitor activities in camps and chalets, claiming youths in the country were planning to host Christmas parties in those locations.

Al-Azmi added that celebrating such events was “inappropriate” in an Islamic state and cautioned the authorities to bar anyone from profiting from such activities, local media reported.

He also had problems with Halloween, calling anything Halloween-related as  "signs of Satanism."

Apparently, nothing has been done about cracking down on the sale of Christmas products, but ex-pats are being warned about sticking to the rules of the land, most notably those dealing with alcohol. Watch out for that spiked egg nog.

Imagine if politicians in Christian-majority countries were to tell Muslims they shouldn't celebrate EID.

Source: Al-Arabiya

Mahmoud Abbas Says No To Israel Boycott, American Professors Say Yes.

Believe it or not, Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas opposes boycotting Israel, how's that for a shocker. He took the opportunity to tell it to the world while he was at Nelson Mandela's funeral. No doubt actress Emma Thompson and all her BDS movement cronies are foaming at the mouth, pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel factions across the world, including the South African BDS movement, have already expressed outraged. Not surprising.

Of course, Abbas does support boycotting products from "illegal" Israeli settlements in the West Bank, just not Israel itself. In response to a question, Abbas said:

“No, we do not support the boycott of Israel." “But we ask everyone to boycott the products of the settlements. Because the settlements are in our territories. It is illegal. But we don’t ask anyone to boycott Israel itself. We have relations with Israel, we have mutual recognition of Israel.” 

But on the heels of Abbas' anti-boycotting statement comes this: a group of around 5,000 American professors and scholars- members of the American Studies Association- voted 2 to 1 to boycott Israeli professors and academic institutions. The Association of Asian American Studies announced its boycott earlier this year.

Well what do you expect from liberal academia.

More here and here.

Kill All Infidels Including Obama and World Leaders: Syrian School Boys Told By Al-Qaeda Rebels

The latest from MEMRI.

Al-Qaeda indoctrinating Syrian school boys with hate for all infidels. And what should they do with infidels, including Christians , Obama, the president of Russia and China, in fact anyone who is not a true Muslim, because Bashar al-Assad and all Alawites are also considered Kuffars?  Slaughter them all.

Greenpeace's Over-the-top Global Warming Message From Santa

Greenpeace has an over-the-top 'global warming' warning for kids (well, world leaders, really) from Santa (played by Brit actor Jim Carter of 'Downton Abbey" fame) who looks more like a character from the horror film "The Hills Have Eyes" than jolly Santa. Yeah, I know the point is it's supposed to look dire, but at least cast someone you who you can sympathize with. But that's not really the point, the point is it's rather ironic, that right now every state save south Florida is in the deep freeze, and even the Middle East is experiencing the wrath of an historic snow storm called Alexa, the heaviest snow fall in some 60 years.

Anyway, Santa has this to say:

“Dear children, regrettably I bring bad tidings." “For some time now, melting nice here in the North Pole has made our operations and our day to day life intolerable and impossible. And there may be no alternative but to cancel Christmas.”

Bah Humbug!

Ari Lesser's- "Boycott Israel" Song

According to Ari Lesser's Facebook page, he's a rapper, reggae singer and spoken word artist from Cleveland, Ohio.

In this song he talks about if you're going to boycott Israel, then you better boycott all the nations of the world with major human rights violations. I don't agree with a few of his examples, but it's a clever song. And he has a point. Not that it will make one whit of a difference to the BDS (Boycott Israel) movement.

North Korea Executes Kim Jong-un's Uncle Jang Song-thaek

It's really no surprise that the Pillsbury Dough Boy's evil twin would eventually execute his very own uncle Jang Song-thaek after the initial purge. I mean, it's not the first time he's had someone close to him killed. Back in August he publicly executed an ex-girlfriend, popular singer Hyun Song-wol, and 11 other prominent North Korean musicians, on charges of pornography. I doubt there was any truth to those charges, but what the hey. He's the DPRK's God and he can do whatever he wants.

The official reason for Jang Song-thaek's removal and execution was for a panoply of criminal acts he purportedly committed and blamed on his "capitalist way of living," including:

In his personal life, Jang was “dissolute and depraved,” as well as corrupt.
“By abusing his power, he was engrossed in irregularities and corruption, had improper relations with several women, and was wined and dined at back parlors of deluxe restaurants,” the North said. “Ideologically sick and extremely idle and easygoing, he used drugs and squandered foreign currency at casinos while he was receiving medical treatment in a foreign country under the care of the party.”

Ironic since Kim Jong-un's daddy, Kim Jong-il, was just as dissolute and depraved:

"..he starved, tortured and kept his people in poverty, all the while living a lavish lifestyle. He is said to have deposited 4 billion dollars in banks in Luxembourg, just in case. A hedonist, he regularly chomped on lobster (with silver chopsticks), airlifted big macs from China, had 10,000 bottles of alcohol in his cellar, and had his personal chefs (many of whom were kidnapped and eventually fled) fetch caviar and other delicacies from around the world. And yet his people starved."

And no doubt the current "Dear Leader" is following in daddy's footsteps.

The Washington Post has published the full Pyonyang statement of  his other terrible crimes, one of which was not clapping heartily enough. No joke.

We all know this was just a great way of ridding himself of the second most powerful man in the DPRK, consolidating power, and keeping all his politburo underlings in line, not to mention the ordinary citizens of North Korea.

I would be very surprised if there isn't more purging of the old guard.

Kissing 'Girlfriend's' Hand Gets 6-Year-Old Colorado Boy Suspension and 'Sexual Harassment Label

This is for the good grief file.

6 year-old Hunter Yelton is a cute young kid from Colorado who has a little girlfriend. As young lads are wont to do, he gave his little girlfriend an innocent kiss on her hand at school one day. It seems some fellow young 'uns tattled to the music teacher at a Cañon City school and Hunter landed a two day suspension for 'sexual harrassment'. That's right, sexual harassment!  The school planned on keeping that label on his school record- forever- but have since dropped the sexual harassment angle to 'misconduct', but still.  The little girl likes Hunter, so why would this qualify as sexual harassment? And a kiss on the hand?  Yes, he kissed her on the cheek on another occasion, but so what.

Hunter explains what happened:

"It was during class, yeah. We were doing reading group and I leaned over and kissed her on the hand. That's what happened."

Now the boy thinks he's done something wrong, and that a kiss on the hand is something terrible:

"They sent me to the office, fair and square. I did something wrong and I feel sorry."

Where are they, Saudi Arabia?

Hunter's mama, Jennifer Saunders, was furious that her son was labeled a sexual harasser, and that he's now questioning her about sex when those kinds of things should be far from his mind at that age.

"This is taking it to an extreme that doesn't need to be met with a 6-year-old. Now my son is asking questions -- 'what is sex, Mommy?' That should not ever be said, sex. Not in a sentence with a 6-year-old."

If he groped her in inappropriate places, or if she told him to stop and he didn't, sure, go ahead and punish the kid, but that wasn't the case.

What is happening to this country?!

According to this psychologist kissing is normal behaviour for kids that age, and that the suspension could have a negative impact on the child.

You can read more on Hunter, with video footage of the cutie here.

What The Fake Nelson Mandela Sign Language Interpreter Really Said- By 'This Is Genius'

So everyone has heard of the fake Sign Language interpreter at the Nelson Mandela memorial. At least that's what South Africa's Deaf Federation claims.

BBC interviews an expert about the situation.

The whole thing is pretty dang funny, other than the fact that no-one knew who he was and he was within firing shot of dignitaries.

For a little fun, This Is Genius has come up with a translation of what he really said:

UK Students Protest Planned Gender Segregation At Brit Universities

British students are up in arms about a policy that Universities UK (UUK) is planning on implementing which would allow for gender segregation under certain circumstances in Brit colleges.
So people were out demonstrating yesterday, on what happened to be Human Rights Day. Quite fitting, methinks.

The universities want the option to allow gender segregation during speaking lectures from 'outside' speakers, if those 'ultra-orthodox' speakers happen to request it. 'Ultra-orthodox', of course, is just a p.c. reference to Islamists, because they're pretty much the only ones who would. In fact, University College London had a bit of a controversy back in March, 2013 when a debate between atheist Lawrence Krauss and Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, organized by the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), ended up with Krauss walking out when he noticed the lecture hall had been gender segregated. The organization was banned from any future events, but obviously other universities think it's a grand idea- to separate men and women.

More here on the protests.

Obviously there are some who think it's a grand idea.  Camillia Khan, Head of Communications at FOSIS (Federation of Student Islamic Societies), had this to say about gender segregation:

The term 'segregation' denotes discrimination and isolation - and this couldn't be further from the general reality. There needs to be a linguistic shift in the discourse - but more importantly, the shift must be an ideological one which accepts that there exist differences based on sound spirituality, and these need to be embraced, led by brave and nuanced organisations such as Universities UK. Male and female seating is a simple religious manifestation that has been established for multiple millennia and is one that is still actively implemented today by many churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious communities. Taking away the basic freedom to choose a room arrangement from mature and democratically elected student groups such as Islamic societies will only seek to alienate Muslim students from social engagement by denying their right to religious freedom.

No, they don't need to be embraced. There is a major difference between public education institutions and religious institutions. If you want to sit in the back of the mosque (or synagogue) by all means do so, we have no say over what happens on private religious property. But universities, forget it.  If they want segregation go to Al Azhar in Egypt or universities in Iran or Saudi Arabia where that's common practice, those universities will be happy to accommodate them. They should feel right at home. Stay out of Western, secular universities.

Bridenapping- Marriage Kazakh-Style For Men Who Can't Find Their Own

Can't find a wife, then just have your family bridenap one for you.  Apparently that's what happens in Kazakhstan, even though it's illegal.

RFE/RL has posted a disturbing amateur video of a young red-dressed woman being dragged, kicking and screaming through the would-be-grooms house by his male and female kin-folk. She's berated, slapped, pushed, her hair is pulled, and she's told "this marriage is going to happen!"

The poor quality video was filmed with Kairat Kozhabekov's cellphone, and later posted on his Facebook page, where he claimed this was a common practice in his country. I'm not sure whether he was proud or just documenting a horrifying tradition for the world to see. You can't see much the first few minutes of the video, since it's pitch black outside, until they are inside the house.

RFE/RL has translated much of what is being said including a male at the beginning saying:

 "Make sure she puts her right foot forward when she is stepping into the home for the first time." 

That's so they have a happy life.

The girl seems to be clueless:

"Don't hold me! Why are you holding me? Why are you talking to me like this? I want to leave," she says. "What are you talking about? I will leave. Why? Why?"

You will notice a white scarf the people are trying to force on her head. She fights valiantly to prevent this from happening, since it would mean she accepts the marriage proposal.

One woman shouts:

"That is it! This [marriage] is going to happen!"  "We are going to make you wear this white scarf anyway."

Another male asks her:

"Why are placing obstacles in the way of your own bright future?"  "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

And another woman tells the frightened, panicked young woman:

 "Don't make us upset."

She responds:

"No, no, no!"  "I'm not going to sit, I won't stay in this house. I'll leave. Let me go!"

But she's told:

 "No one is letting you out from this house."

What a great foundation for a happy marriage.

According to the post she just gave up and now has a son.

The video did not garner positive comments, and some Facebook users mentioned friends who had been bridenapped usually wound up divorcing their kidnappers.

You can get up to seven years for bridnapping (a century's old tradition), but the victims rarely seek help.

Christian Statues Are Being Vandalized In Germany

Christian statutes and religious symbols are being vandalized in the Muensterland region of Germany. Authorities have no clue who is responsible or whether it's simply vandalism or religiously motivated. But when it comes to the destruction of religious property, one can usually assume it's the latter.  And I doubt it's atheists, or Jews of Hindus or Buddhists.

Raqqa, Syria's First Rebel-Freed City, Now An Islamic Hell

It's sad really, the Syrian revolution started as an effort to bring freedom and democracy to a country run by a nasty dictator, albeit a secular one. But what they have managed to do was replace that nastiness with something far worse.

An article on Al Arabiya talks about what happened to the city of Raqqa in eastern Syria. Initially referred to as the "bride of the revolution," it was the first city to gain freedom from Bashar al-Assad's forces back in March. At the time, the people there were elated. But not so much now that the rebel forces- the likes of the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL)-  that took control of the city have turned the place into an Islamic hell.

“At the time we were all happy with the liberation, it was not important who was there. Raqqa was for all Syrians and all those who helped liberate it,” said one of several residents and activists contacted by Reuters via Skype.

[snip]

In the weeks that followed, prisons appeared in public buildings, electricity was cut off and shops were banned from selling tobacco, considered anti-Islamic by the ultra-puritan, masked Islamist fighters who began patrolling the city.

“They also closed the universities saying that because women are also taking lessons there it should be shut,” said a resident whose son is a media activist and is now wanted by the Islamists.

[Snip]

“When Raqqa was liberated we thought now that the regime is out, the era of freedom has begun. People started cleaning the streets. We thought we were living a dream,” said another resident who, like most Raqqa locals, declined to be named for their safety. “It was dream. They killed it.”

Public executions have become commonplace, churches have been burned, and the streets empty out by nightfall since the only buildings that have electricity are the ones the rebels stole.

Many of the activists  have left, blaming the Free Syrian Army for basically handing over the city to the jihadists. One activist, no longer living there, had this to say:

“All the FSA cared for was stealing and accumulating money. From the first day of Raqqa’s liberation they left it to the Islamic State."

I think Syria, at this point, is a lost cause.

North Korea Prison Camps Expanding Says Amnesty International

Look at any of the comments on the pro-North Korea YouTube channels, and the DPRK tools deny there are problems there, and claim that the prison camps are an exaggeration.

But Amnesty International says the camps are actually expanding according to recent satellite images of Kwanliso 15 and 16.  There are new housing blocks and guard towers in both those camps.

Reindeer Meat Goes Halal In Norway

Yes, a Norwegian slaughterhouse (Vilteksperten) has started killing reindeer the 'Halal' way to appeal to the burgeoning Muslim population in that country. 105 relatives of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer have had their throats sliced, blood drained, and then been blessed by a Muslim approved by the Islamic Council of Norway.  Apparently, Vilteksperten does slaughter the reindeer in the same manner as Halal, the only difference is the blessing.

But it won't just be Norwegian Muslims gobbling down reindeer, the meat could also end up on plates in upscale eateries in Dubai.

Source: Al Arabiya

Merrill Newman (85) "Prisoner of War" In North Korea Apologizes For "Hostile Acts"

With so many incredible places to travel throughout the world what would possess someone to add North Korea to their bucket list? Merrill Newman (85) apparently thought it would be pretty cool, had wanted to do so for a long time, even studied the language, so off he went on a nine day trek to the shithole that is the DPRK. On October 26th, he and his buddy Bob Hamrdla were on a plane ready to fly home to Palo Alto when he was removed by a uniformed DPRK officer, and he has been sitting somewhere in that country ever since.

According to Newman's son Jeffrey:

"My dad got off, walked out with the stewardess, and that's the last he was seen."

Until now, no-one knew for sure what was going on, or why he was detained, other than some info from his traveling companion who said the old fool got into it with some DPRK officials about his time there during the 1950-53 Korean War. Not the smartest thing to do considering there never was a peace treaty so technically the two Koreas are still at war, and the certifiably insane leadership keeps the memory of that war fresh in the minds of the people on a daily basis.

Son Jeff seemed to think that his father would be released after North Korea realized they made a mistake and that Merrill was simply an "elderly traveler, a grandfather with a heart condition." But that doesn't seem likely any time soon, since we now have a 'confession' from Merrill, admitting to war crimes.



Of course, it's doubtful those are his words, but he's obviously playing their game.

Regarding his arrest:

The Korean Central News Agency released the following report on Saturday:

A relevant institution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea recently put in custody U.S. citizen Merrill Edward Newman who committed hostile acts against the DPRK after entering the country under the guise of a tourist. After entering the DPRK as a member of tourists' group in October he perpetrated acts of infringing upon the dignity and sovereignty of the DPRK and slandering its socialist system, quite contrary to the purpose of tour. He also committed such crime as trying to look for spies and terrorists who conducted espionage and subversive activities against the DPRK in the area of Mt. Kuwol during the last Fatherland Liberation War as well as their families and descendants and connect them with the "Kuwol Partisan Comrades-in-Arms Association," an anti-DPRK plot-breeding organization of south Korea. According to the results of the investigation, he was active as adviser of "Kuwol Unit" of the UN Korea 6th Partisan Regiment part of the Intelligence Bureau of the Command of the U.S. Forces in the Far East since early in 1953. He is a criminal as he masterminded espionage and subversive activities against the DPRK and in this course he was involved in killings of service personnel of the Korean People's Army and innocent civilians. The investigation clearly proved Newman's hostile acts against the DPRK and they were backed by evidence. He admitted all his crimes and made an apology for them.

The San Jose Mercury News has some interesting information regarding Newman's part during the war including:

New revelations that 85-year-old Merrill Edward Newman had served in a once-top-secret U.S. Army unit nicknamed the "White Tigers.''

And that he trained anti-communist guerrillas fighting in North Korea. Even more reason not to go there. Kim Chang-Sun, one of those fighters he trained, believes the North Koreans knew who he was.

"Those bastards already knew Newman before the war was over. They obtained the roster of our entire regiment."

I feel terrible for the old man, but if my dad had fought over there and wanted to take a trip to North Korea, I'd confiscate his passport. Newman had no business traveling to a communist country with a generation of leaders that have violated the rights of the people in such a horrendous way, especially considering what he did during the war.

I hope they release him, but he's now considered a prisoner of war. As crazy as they are, that does not bode well.

St. Paul Minnesota YMCA Swimming Pools Going Shariah Compliant

Apparently, the St Paul, Minnesota YMCA (with the help of the St. Paul police department) is accommodating the large Somali Muslim population, and making the swimming pools Shariah compliant.  According to the Star Tribune the YMCA has created a swim group for Somali girls from 5-17:

According to the report, during the hourlong swim practice, all other swimmers are cleared out of the pool. The men’s locker room is locked and female life guards are brought in. “I think this is just a great opportunity for them to learn basic skills that we take for granted,” said Sgt. Jennifer O’Donnell, who has worked with the Somali community regularly during her time with the department.

The mother of Rayan Dhamuke (12) believes they "have to have privacy, and the poor little thing had to swim at 5 a.m. during the summer because, God forbid, any male should see her swimming.

Allen West puts it succinctly:

You can only imagine the outcry from the ACLU and atheist organizations if a Christian group were advocating for “private” swim time. I thought our country struck down the concept of “separate but equal?”

Why would Somalis come to America if they wanted to maintain their discriminatory cultural and religious beliefs? 

Source: Allen West

Al-Qaeda Linked Jihadists Execute Syrian Opposition

Truthloader has a video alleging that members of the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)- one of the many al-Qaeda linked groups fighting in Syria- executed seven so-called moderate opposition fighters from the Ghurabaa al-Sham Brigade, including their Commander Hassan Jazera. Jazera was accused of looting and being corrupt, but who knows what the truth is. The Ghurabaa al-Sham Brigade have been fighting from the start.  They just like to kill.

Check out video here.

Then of course you have the jihadists who accidentally beheaded one of their own. Oops. That time it was two foreign fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who beheaded Mohammed Marroush, a jihadist with the Ahrah al-Sham Brigade. Ahrah al-Sham is supposedly an ally of ISIL. A Tunisian was arrested by ISIL for mistaking Marroush for a Shiite Bashar al-Assad fighter, and subsequently chopping off his head. The other guilty party, from the Gulf, remains free.

Happy Thanksgivikkah- Video Parody "Oils" by Kate Steinberg

This year Hanukkah is being celebrated around the same time as Thanksgiving, so here's a fun video parody of Lorde's  song "Royals" celebrating the dual holiday of Thanksgivukkah called "Oils"... enjoy! Vocals by Kate Steinberg.

And have a blessed Thanksgiving and a very Happy Hanukkah!!



Lyrics from YouTube:

[Verse 1]
I always cooked a turkey in Novem[ber],
I lit my eight menorah candles in December.
But now my schedule's a mess Because Hanukkah's tied to Thanksgiving.

[Chorus]
Now everyone's like Pilgrims, Indians, readers of the torah
Puritans, Wampanoag, dancers of the hora
We don't care, we're celebrating Thanksgivukkah.

And now the menus like stuffing, cranberry, turkey leg or brisket,
Manischewitz, pumpkin pie, holidays are mixing.
We don't care, we'll throw our dreidels in the air.

And we'll always have oil (oil)
For frying our latkes.
It's just about a month early
To honor Judah Maccabee.

It should be in winter (winter)
No more leaves on the ground.
Members of the tribe, the tribe, the tribe, the tribe
All together getting down.

[Verse 2]
My friends and I would watch football
We'd wait for Charlie Brown to fly in front of Macy's.
Instead we're filling up our gourds, with chocolate coins
it's a horn of plenty.

[Chorus]
Now everyone's like Pilgrims, Indians, readers of the torah
Puritans, Wampanoag, dancers of the hora
We don't care, we're celebrating Thanksgivukkah.

And now the menus like stuffing, cranberry, turkey leg or brisket,
Manischewitz, pumpkin pie, holidays are mixing.
We don't care, we'll throw our dreidels in the air.

And we'll always have oil (oil)
For frying our latkes.
It's just about a month early
To honor Judah Maccabee.

It should be in winter (winter)
No more leaves on the ground.
Members of the tribe, the tribe, the tribe, the tribe
All together getting down.

[Verse 3]
Ooh ooh oh,
Thanksgiving plus Hanukkah
This is just meshugenah.
Ooh ooh oh,
Historically inaccurate
but we don't really give a sh*t.

[Chorus]
And we'll always have oil (oil)
For frying our latkes.
It's just about a month early
To honor Judah Maccabee.

It should be in winter (winter)
No more leaves on the ground.
Members of the tribe, the tribe, the tribe, the tribe
All together getting down.

25 Little Known Thanksgiving Facts From Mental Floss

For those of you into trivia, here are some little known facts about Thanksgiving, courtesy of Mental Floss on YouTube, none of which I was aware of.

Have a good one tomorrow.

Angolan Embassy Officials Deny Ban On Islam and Destruction of Mosques

People were cheering Angola for allegedly banning Islam and promising to destroy mosques this past weekend, but that joy was short-lived since it's apparently not true. At least according to the Angolan Embassy in Washington, D.C. The anonymous Embassy official said of the allegations:

“The Republic of Angola … it’s a country that does not interfere in religion. We have a lot of religions there. It is freedom of religion. We have Catholic, Protestants, Baptists, Muslims and evangelical people.”

Another Embassy official told IBTimes:

“At the moment, we don’t have any information about that. We’re reading about it just like you on the Internet. We don’t have any notice that what you’re reading on the Internet is true.”

As is often the case, there was much questionable information regarding the whole issue, including a suspect photo of a dismantled mosque. The African press (including the Osun Defender)- which broke the story- supposedly quoted the president of the Christian-majority country, José Eduardo dos Santos, saying:

"This is the final end of Islamic influence in our country."

But that info came from a Muslim website OnIslam.net.

But he was not even in the country when he was quoted as saying that.

But then you have this:

Weekly French-language Beninese newspaper La Nouvelle Tribune published an article on Friday sourcing "several" Angolan officials, including the minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz, who reportedly offered the following remarks, which have been translated from French: "The process of legalization of Islam has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Their mosques would be closed until further notice."

However, one of the Embassy sources has said he knows nothing about Cruz making those comments.

“I cannot confirm if the Minister of Culture said that. I cannot find that in our press."

So, no-one knows for sure whether any of this actually was said. The Embassy officials deny any knowledge, but that means nothing.

It could just be a case of wishful thinking.

And more denials from the Angolan government.

Afghan Couple Eloping Shot Dead By Family

And because families would rather see their children dead than happily married to someone they did not chose- we have the following story from northern Afghanistan:

A 20-year-old girl and her boyfriend (age unknown) were honor killed by her family as they tried to escape by car. They were trying to elope.

"While they were fleeing, suddenly their car crashed and locals arrested them. People wanted to stone them on the spot but some elders disagreed," the provincial head of women's affairs, Khadija Yaqeen, told Reuters on Monday.

"The next day they decided and shot both of them dead in public. Our findings show that the woman's father had ordered to shoot both man and woman."

According to RFE/RL the local elders gave the order to kill the young lovers.

Other Source: Afghanistan Times.

Afghanistan Mulls Reinstating Stoning For Adultery

It's the 21st century, and according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) some officials within the Afghan government are lobbying to get public stoning for adultery back into the penal code. The Taliban enjoyed that public form of punishment/entertainment when they reigned supreme some 12 years ago. So popular, they were held in the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul.

A draft, put together by the Justice Ministry, proposes stoning for married adulterers and flogging for unmarried ones- remember, sex outside of marriage under Shariah law is considered adultery.

“Men and women who commit adultery shall be punished based on the circumstances to one of the following punishments: lashing, stoning [to death],” article 21 states. The draft goes on to specify that the stoning should be public, in article 23.

And we're thinking of staying on past 2014??

Sources: RFE/RL, Gulf News

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women- Nov 25th - Video

In honor of  International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, I thought this video on RFE/RL was sadly appropriate.

It also reflects all that is horrendous about the life of women in places like Afghanistan.

According to Akhtara- a mother of four in her late twenties- she was married off to a rich older man at the age of 10. Then one day the old man's nephew wound up murdering him, and three years after Akhtara refused to marry the nephew (who then fled to Pakistan), he showed up at her door and threw acid in her face.  She now has to beg to support her kids, and one her boys works from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. to help with the rent.

Saudi Woman Who Elopes To Yemen Granted Asylum By UNHCR

It's not often you hear good news from the Middle East regarding star-crossed lovers. Usually one or the other- or both- wind up getting killed by family members. In this case, at least for now, it turned out happily for a Saudi woman and her Yemeni fiance'. Huda Abdullah Al Niran was betrothed to someone else as part of an arranged marriage, so she escaped to Yemen so she could marry her boyfriend Arafat. In fact two tribal leaders in Yemen helped them get married, including providing a house, and furniture for a bedroom for the couple.

However, things still could turn out badly since Huda is being charged with illegal entry into Yemen. Activists have protested, and she has now been granted asylum (at her request) by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which means that she can't be deported Not sure why UNHCR has anything to do with Yemen's granting asylum to the young woman, but according to an official the reason they did so was that she "could face torture or even death if she returned as tribal norms dictate in such cases."

Arafat is also being charged with helping Huda enter the country illegally, however his lawyer  claims that since he arrived at the border nine hours after Huda, technically he did not commit a crime.

She'll find out her fate on Tuesday.

Source: Gulf News

Pallywood Went To Egypt: Pro-Morsi Protests Staged For The Camera

Not sure if this source can be trusted, but it allegedly shows pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood actor types staging a "demonstration" in Egypt for the camera- fake blood and all- back in August. It just shows how common Pallywood staging is, even outside of Palestine.

For more on Pallywood Richard Landes in late 2012 posted info and photos over at The Augean Stables, and the UK Telegraph.  And here's a history.

Jihadists Chop Down 150-Year-Old Tree In Syria

Atme has been a Free Syrian Army (FSA) stronghold fighting Bashar al-Assad's forces for a while, but jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL) have just taken control. This does not sit well with local FSA fighters, like Abu Leila ,who want nothing to do with the jihadists, but seem at a loss to prevent the inevitable takeovers that are happening in rebel held regions of Syria.

According to Leila ISIL:

“have taken over Atme... They have set up checkpoints across the town." [snip] "Atme was oxygen for the (rebel) Free Syrian Army. ”  Atme was being used  “as an entry point for everything from weapons to food, and as an exit point for the wounded” into Turkey’s hospitals, said Abu Leila.

And wherever the jihadists go they bring their supreme ignorance with them.

There was a a 150-year-old oak tree standing next to an ancient shrine in Atme, a Syria/Turkey border town.  Because jihadists don't like shrines, they took over the site and stopped people from worshipping there.  When that happened the locals started praying next to the tree, so the jihadists chopped it down claiming the people were worshipping the tree.

According to a pro-jihadist source:

“Thank God almighty, the tree... aged more than 150 years has been removed, after people were worshipping it instead of God,” said the source on Thursday via his Twitter account named “our call is our jihad”.

He also posted pictures of a man in a black mask using an electric saw to cut down the tree. A black Al-Qaeda-style flag bearing the Islamic profession of faith had been planted on top of the tree.

Such stupidity on so many levels.

Spirit Airlines Takes Dig At Obamacare In Latest Ad Campaign

Spirit Airlines, the only airline (that I know of) to charge for carry-on baggage, has added the Obamacare fiasco to its ad campaign arsenal titled the Affordable Fare Act. Making fun of the website woes and Barack Obama's failed promises regarding keeping your insurance, Spirit Airlines sent an email touting its latest low prices featuring the following:

“If you like your low fares, you can keep your low fares … because our website actually works!”  “Take advantage of our Affordable Fare Act with this deal!”

Sure the prices seem low- $19.90 one way for Spirit members and $29.90 for non-members- but who knows where those flights will take you, and then you have to factor in all your baggage fees. I refuse to fly Spirit, but I admire the rather gutsy ad campaign.

According to Fox, Spirit cleverly uses breaking news to fashion its ad campaigns, including one called "We're Not Smoking Crack" in honor of, yes- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

Fancy Shoes Get Afghans Deported From Iran

All it took for half of an Afghan family to be deported  from Iran, where they had lived legally for the past 15 or so years, was a pair of pink sneakers and platform shoes. 17-year-old Zohrah wore the platform sandals and her 15-year-old sister Hasina donned a pair of pink sneakers on a 35 kilometer pilgrimage to the Shia holy city of Qoms.  They were arrested after they argued with a policeman in Qoms who noticed the shoes and the makeup, found it offensive, and charged them with not abiding by Islamic dress code. Zohrah immediately called her fiance' who then called their father to come help, but they too were arrested when they arrived at the station, and three or four days later the four found themselves on the border of Iran and Afghanistan waiting deportation.

According to Human Rights Watch, Afghans are not allowed Iranian citizenship, and even though they might be there legally (like Zohrah and Hasina's family), and Hasina was born there, they can be easily deported.

Iran detains and deports hundreds of thousands of Afghans every year with without any legal proceedings or the opportunity to seek asylum, according to a new Human Rights Watch report, Unwelcome Guests. Members of the Iranian security forces have absolute power to deport Afghans. Afghans facing deportation are typically bused to Afghanistan within a couple of days of being detained without any opportunity to prove that they have a legal right to live in Iran or to lodge an asylum claim. These days, Afghans are systematically denied the opportunity to apply for refugee status when they first enter Iran, leaving them vulnerable to deportation at any moment. Some deportees are beaten during the deportation process, and all are charged exorbitant fees.

Zohrah and Hasina's mother and 3 other young siblings (12, 8, 3) have been left behind to fend for themselves. And the girls are facing an even worse hell-hole for women, in Afghanistan. And now the father has to figure out what to do about his family in Iran (including an aunt and grandparents), and his two girls in Afghanistan.

“We don’t have any money in Afghanistan,” he said. “We don’t have any money to go back to Iran. My wife does not work, she’s uneducated. What will she do?”
“What will we do?” he said.

All of this because of some shoes.  Gotta love the Islamic Republic of Iran.

More on Human Rights Watch.

George W. Bush On The Tonight Show With Jay Leno- video

Love George "Dubya" Bush. What a down to earth man. And you have to give him credit for not criticizing Barack Obama during these disastrous years, since there have  been a multitude of things to blast him for.  Jay Leno asks him about that, and Bush responded:

"I don't think it's good for the country to have a former president criticize his successor."

Given the positive response to Bush, the audience was probably mostly conservative.

You can find the rest of Bush on Leno on YouTube.

American Jihadist In Syria Who Promised To Spread Islam Throughout The World- Is Dead

Well there's one less foreign jihadist fighting in Syria. This one happened to be American. The video is of Abu Dujana al-Amriki- while still alive- with a message for the West about how he and his mujahideen buddies will defy and kill all the Kuffar (infidels) that get in the way of spreading Islam and Shariah in Syria and the rest of the world.

The Syrian Army sent him off to meet his 72 (virgins) in the village of al-Hamra, in northwestern Syria.

Adios.

Israeli Hospital Treats Hamas Chief's Sick Grandchild

Hamas would love to see Israel wiped off the map, it's written right there in its Charter. The head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has also been very adamant about refusing to recognize Israel. In fact, according to Arutz Sheva 7 news:

On Monday, Hamas representatives told students at the Khan Yunes College of Science and Technology that they were working diligently on digging more terror tunnels into Israel during the relative calm, threatening, "we will enter your homes, your schools, your positions and your strongholds."

 Most Palestinians hate the Jews and Israelis, they want nothing to do with them, until they need medical help, that is.  Even Ismail Haniyeh- who had his critically ill 1-year-old grandchild Amal transferred the Schneider Children's Medical Center, in Petah Tikva, Israel. The little girl is suffering from serious digestive problems, and her dad, Abdessalam Haniyeh, posted on Facebook:

 "Amal has crossed the border with Israel now, and I call on God to grant her health.

"I call on God to grant good health to my daughter Amal, who entered in a state of clinical death," he added the next day.

Israel has said they are unaware of the transfer, apparently there are photos on social network sites of granddad Haniyeh visiting the sick child in a Gaza hospital prior to transfer.

Will there be thanks to Israeli for trying to save this child? Doubtful.

Other source: J Post

SNL's - Obama Anti-Depressant Commercial

In case you don't watch "Saturday Night Live" (I don't) here's their Paxil- Second Term Strength Anti-depressant for Barack Obama commercial.

"Knockout" Game Targeting Random Victims Spreading Across U.S.

There is something desperately wrong with the youth of today when they find amusement in a sick and disturbing  'game' that seems to be spreading across the U.S. even though it has been around since at least 2005. It's called "Knockout" or "King Hit" or "One Hit Knockout" and the goal is to knockout cold- with one punch- some random passerby. They call the perpetrator "The One Hitter Quitter" and it matters not the age or gender of the victim.



But sometimes it doesn't stop with the one punch, and the victim is beaten up. That's what happened to a 46-year-old Hoboken, New Jersey homeless man- Ralph Santiago, who was found with a broken neck, his head wedged between iron fence posts. And he's not the only one found dead, there have also been deaths in Syracuse, New York, and St. Louis, Missouri. So far.

A predominately black on white crime, immigrants have also been attacked including a 72-year-old Vietnamese man and his wife, in St. Louis, who were targeted back in 2011. The old man, Hoang D. Nguyen died of his injuries. And in Brooklyn they're targeting Jews. Many of the victims have been older, more fragile individuals which makes what these thugs are doing even more heinous.

This happened in London, but I'm not sure if it was just some nutter targeting this young girl in 2012 or part of this trending phenomenon.

It's apparently more prevalent than authorities are letting on. There needs to be severe punishment for those caught.

Sick Baby Named Al-Sisi Denied Care By Islamist Egyptian Doctor?

Maybe Arab Muslim doctors don't take the Hippocratic Oath when they embark on their healing careers, if an Egyptian doctor at the Kafr el-Sheikh General Hospital near Cairo is any indication. Senior physician Ezzat Abdulaziz refused to treat a three-month old baby with a high temp because the little boy's name was al-Sisi.  He's apparently an Islamist Muslim Brother supporter, and obviously took offense to the fact the child was named after General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the savior of anti-Islamist Egyptians.

“I took my baby to the hospital, but the doctor expelled me out of the room refusing to treat the baby after learning that his name is al-Sisi,” the baby’s mother told the private Dream TV.

“I took my baby, who had a high temperature, to another woman doctor who examined him and issued a prescription for him,” the mother added.

The governor of Kafr el-Sheikh called the doctor's inaction negligent.

4 French Alleged Syria Jihadists Arrested In Paris

Apparently there are approximately 440 French jihadists who have either fought in Syria and are now back home in France, intend on fighting, or are already there. Four of those jihadists are now out of commission, for now at least, after being arrested by French authorities in Paris. The men, part of a network lead by a 24-year-old, were in their 20s and 30s, and were caught by French intelligence (DCRI). The network is responsible for training and shipping fighters to Syria. Probably the same network that sent this idiot over there. They also arrested a woman, but the fools released her.  One of the men was born in Morocco, but the other three are natives of France.

According to a source, 10 or so have been killed- no loss there- and around 50 to 60 have returned from Syria. You can't really say they were radicalized over there, because being radicalized was what obviously prompted them to trek on over to Syria to fight, to begin with.

Too bad they can't all be rounded up to keep the French people safe.

Source: Al Arabiya

Radicalised European Jihadists In Syria A Threat If They Go Home- Video

Spy chiefs in Europe believe that European jihadists fighting in Syria are a major threat if they make it home alive. One in ten rebel fighters in Syria happen to be from Europe, and most are natives not immigrants, like the French idiot interviewed in the video (and his brother) whose parents were atheists.

The Ugliest Islamic Face Veil Of All- The Burghu

The burghu, not to be mixed up with the wheat product bulgur, is probably one of the ugliest forms of Islamic face coverings you will ever encounter. There's very little information out there other than references to it in an article in Gulf News regarding a recently published book by Dr. Reem El Mutwalli titled 'Sultani, Changes in Women's Traditional Dress in the UAE during the reign of Shaikh Zayid Bi Sultan Al Nahyan 1966-2004.'

The burqa, and niqab are ugly enough:

Afghan Blue Burqa

Niqab

But the burghu looks like a cross between something out of some  fetishist/S and M catalogue and some kind of muzzle you'd use on a vicious pet. It also disturbingly resembles a mustache, at least in the photos below, which are published in Mutwalli's book.

Mutwalli  actually has an uber cool website, and a Pinterest board where you can see other photos of traditional outfits worn during the period of time she writes about, some of which are actually quite beautiful. But this burghu... it's  just another symbol of the "muzzling" of Arab Muslim womenfolk. According to some info on one of the photos on her Pinterest board (although that one is called a Bandari costume), the younger generation no longer wears them, and it's usually married older women and rural dwellers in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Arabs of southern Iran and southeastern Turkey who still do.

Source: Gulf News

Video: Reagan Gives Obama and Others a Lecture On Socialism

This is a few years old, and part of a documentary film (I think) titled "I want Your Money."  It stars Ronald Reagan giving Barack Obama- and a bevy of other political celebs (both left and right) from the Clintons to Sarah Palin- a lecture on socialism.

Egypt Ranks Worst For Women In Arab World In Thomson Reuter Poll

Believe it or not, Egypt tops the list as the worst Arab country for women, with Comoros coming in as the best, at least according to a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey.  I would have thought Saudi Arabia or Yemen would have taken top honors, but no, it's Egypt because of various factors including rampant and excessive sexual harassment, female genital mutilation (FGM), trafficking, the rise of Islamism (and the violence that has ensued) as a result of the Arab Spring,

The poll by Thomson Reuters' philanthropic arm surveyed 336 gender experts in August and September in 21 Arab League states and Syria, which was a founding member of the Arab League but was suspended in 2011.
[snip]
The poll assessed violence against women, reproductive rights, treatment of women within the family, their integration into society and attitudes towards a woman’s role in politics and the economy.

99.3 percent of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual harassment, per a UN report in April. At the height of the anti-Morsi protests in June, 91 women were reported as having been raped or sexually assaulted in Tahrir Square, according to Human Rights Watch.

“The social acceptability of everyday sexual harassment affects every woman in Egypt regardless of age, professional or socio-economic background, marriage status, dress or behavior,” said Noora Flinkman, communications manager at HarassMap, a Cairo-based rights group that campaigns against harassment. “It limits women’s participation in public life. It affects their safety and security, their sense of worth, self-confidence and health.”

Then there's the trafficking and forced marriage of women. Zahra Radwan of  Global Fund For Women claims:

“There are whole villages on the outskirts of Cairo and elsewhere where the bulk of economic activity is based on trafficking in women and forced marriages."

As for FGM, UNICEF says that a whopping 27.2 million women and young girls have been cut. That's 91% of the female population. Djibouti, though, beats Egypt by 2%.

Here's a list of how each country ranked (from worst to best):

22. Egypt
21. Iraq
20. Saudi Arabia
19. Syria
18. Yemen
17. Sudan
16. Lebanon
15. Palestinian territories
14. Somalia
13. Djibouti
12. Bahrain
11. Mauritania
10. UAE
9. Libya
8. Morocco
7. Algeria
6. Tunisia
5. Qatar
4. Jordan
3. Kuwait
2. Oman
1. Comoros

Ahram has more on why some of the others ranked worst.

But here's an article that discusses why ranking Egypt as number one is misleading.

They're all pretty pathetic when it comes to women's rights.

Mark Dice Gets Reaction From People On News That Martin Luther King Died In Car Crash Today!

Mark Dice has some far out ideas that I don't buy, but he's at it again demonstrating just how stupid some Americans really are.

Dice takes it to the streets of California (looks like Venice Beach, but I could be wrong) asking random strangers what they think of Martin Luther King's death in a car crash, "today."

Yes, there are people who have absolutely no clue. These are people who vote.

Women Have Half The Brain Function As Men- Claims Saudi Scholar Al Arifi

Sheikh Muhammad al-Arifi is a famous Saudi scholar and professor at King Saud University. He has a Twitter following of 7 million. In a video on YouTube he explains why Allah (in the Quran) requires the need for two women to testify versus the testimony of one man.  Because, apparently, we have half the brain function as men:

".... the man has a gland in his head that allows him to do two things: Remember, and talk-- at the same time. As for the woman, her gland only allows her to do one thing. Either she remembers, or she talks. So God almighty said: One man, and two women. So that if one woman forgets, the other one reminds her."

Watch more on the video here.

Of course this is the same man who said that fathers should never be alone with their daughters lest they tempt them into lust, which prompted some to say he needs psychiatric help.

Tahitians Protest Against Mosque and Islam In Papeete

Using the slogan "not racists but realists" between 400 and 500 French Polynesians took to the streets of Papeete, Tahiti in protest of the opening of a mosque, Islam, Shariah, and the Quran. They want Muslims out of their country to preserve their religion (Christianity) and freedom for the generations to come.

This kind of protest wouldn't be happening if Muslims weren't trying to foist their religious demands on others. I feel sorry for those who integrate and keep their religion to themselves, which is as it should be, but far too many don't.

No Music At Weddings- Al-Qaeda In Syria Raids Wedding Party

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)- those lovely al-Qaeda types in control of areas of Syria  fighting to establish an Islamic state over there- are continuing to flex their muscles.  Since they believe that music is haram (forbidden) in Islam, they allegedly raided a wedding party somewhere in the outskirts of Aleppo and forced the band to stop playing.

“One leader of the Islamic State warned residents that if a music band is invited to a wedding again, the person responsible will be arrested because this is immoral,” the newspaper reported, citing an internet page of the Syrian Revolution in Menbej.

The al-Qaeda leader reportedly asked the man in charge of the wedding to memorize a verse of the Quran and attend several religious courses at al-Qaeda’s center in Maskana, near Aleppo.

But here's an interesting twist: Some think that what the al-Qaeda extremist groups are doing is just fueling anti-rebel sentiment, and playing into the hands of the Syrian government, so much so that even Ayman al-Zawahiri (head honcho of al-Qaeda) has told ISIL to disband immediately and let al-Nusra Front represent al-Qaeda in Syria. ISIL is the Syrian faction of the Islamic State in Iraq.  ISI will remain intact, according to Zawahiri.

Honoring Our Brave- Veteran's Day 2013

On this day, I thank not only our Veteran's but those that are serving today. Because of our military we enjoy many freedoms that others do not. We should not take that for granted, nor should we abandon our Vets when they return home, some broken physically and mentally. We need to reach out to them in whatever way we can. Get involved with Veteran's groups, or organizations trying to help. They need us, especially during these trying economic times. And your help doesn't need to be monetary, go visit a soldier at a hospital, help pack a care package for deployed troops. It doesn't take much.

From my heart, I send prayers and thanks to all our soldiers!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

TV Skit Mocks Nasrallah, Protests In Lebanon Ensue

A Lebanese TV skit mocking Hezbollah's head honcho Hassan Nasrallah so enraged his supporters, they did what Muslim extremists do best- flocked to the streets in protest and burned tires. LBC TV's comedy show 'Basmat Watan' has targeted Nasrallah before, and as far as the producer Charbel Khalil is concerned, religious figures are fair game. Since he also happens to be a political figure, others believe there's nothing wrong with mocking him.

This week’s program poked jokes at Hezbollah's role in Syria, with Nasrallah's character lamenting what he said was a late intervention.

"Our weapons should have included planes and submarines," he said.

There is a video news report on this on Al Arabiya.

No sense of humor.

Did Pakistani Jihadists Bring Polio To Syria?

Polio is a devastating, highly infectious disease that spreads and cripples children very quickly, and there is no cure. Vaccinating kids is the only way to stop it from spreading. For the most part, the world has been able to eradicate it. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) there are only three countries where polio is still endemic: Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. I'm not sure about Nigeria, but the reason why it's still a problem in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is because the Taliban- in all their breathtaking ignorance- think immunization is some Western conspiracy to sterilize Muslim children. So they've been systematically attacking and killing polio workers. Back in January, 7 aid workers were killed, including a doctor, and there have been others since. But it's not just the Taliban, two teachers attacked a woman when she came to their house, because they believed the polio vaccine was a plot by the U.S. to cause mental retardation.

Syria had been polio free for 14 years, until now.  And thanks to the Pakistani jihadists who have gone to Syria to fight, polio has come back with a vengeance. 10 under-immunized children, so far, have been paralyzed, and neighbouring countries are running scared. As a result Syria, Lebanon and some other countries in the Middle East are on a mission to vaccinate over 20 million kids. Lebanon has already started its campaign:

“Today was the launching of the polio campaign in Lebanon. Lebanon has been polio-free for almost twelve years and it should stay as it is. Therefore today, together with the ministry of health, we have started the vaccination of more than 750,000 under five children,” UNICEF representative in Lebanon, AnnaMaria Laurini, told Reuters.

Though there is no way to definitively determine if Pakistani fighters are to blame for bringing the virus to North East Syria, the fact that it's only one of three countries where polio is still a problem, and North East Syria is where the rebels have taken hold, it seems more than likely.